Vastrap Boran Sale

Thank you to everyone who supported the 2017 Vastrap Auction on Friday, 18 August. In many ways it was an emotional day for us as we bid farewell to the last remaining Mollshoop Boran cows that were the founding matriarchs of the Vastrap herd. Our Boran journey started with these cows and we have them to thank for the consistent quality and character of the Vastrap herd today. We bid farewell to the Mollshoop Jackies, Roses, Odettes, Hopes, Savannas et al and happily start afresh with their Vastrap (VST) offspring still carrying their names. We couldn’t have asked for a better outcome as the results on the day surpassed our expectations!

This was our 5th auction and without a doubt the most smoothly run, thanks to the great service we received from the whole team at OVK/CMW led by Johan Scholtz and Paul van Biljon. From the marketing, the setting up, the auction logistics through to the loading and administration, we continuously felt a sense of comfort that everything was being run efficiently and professionally. We would like to extend a huge thank you to all the OVK/CMW staff. We can wholeheartedly recommend OVK/CMW service to anyone thinking of holding a livestock auction. Thank you also to Johan van der Nest for bringing his A-game and lifting the auction with his usual unique style!

The organisation of an auction takes a huge physical and emotional toll, but it is all worth it when you see what an effort people make to get here. We were happy to see many repeat customers, but also lots of new faces, not only from the stud industry.

We are proud to be associated with all our guest sellers (Peinke Ranch, Pratos Borane and Heeltevrede Stoetery) who offered exceptional quality animals that did very well on the day. Huge congratulations to Peinke Ranch for having the highest price cow and bull on the day – Shakira PRB 14-21 (R205’000) and Leika PRB 14-18 (R140’000).

We had a fantastic time hosting guests from all over the country at the first annual Vastrap Boran auction. We were even able to tempt Boran lovers from Namibia to join us for the event – thank you Hermanus and Marlene Biewenga for travelling such a long way! People who stayed at guest houses in Ladybrand on Thursday night also joined us at Vastrap for a special whisky tasting evening sponsored by Johnnie Walker. Thanks to the lure of good whisky, neighbours from as far as Thaba Nchu even braved the cold to socialise with us! The tasting of Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve and Johnnie Walker Blue Label was led by Derek Cuthbert, a whisky expert from Brandhouse in Johannesburg. Johnnie Walker Red, Black and Double Black was also available for comparison. During the tasting it was revealed that the buyers of the most expensive animals on the auction would each receive a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label – an exceptional treat indeed!

The menu was especially chosen to complement the whisky: smoked salmon and cream cheese blinis, chicken liver patè, mushroom patè, home made sausage rolls, a large steak and guinness pie, a decadent cheese board and mini chocolate cupcakes. A large outside fire pit helped to keep the smokers warm, while our Aga stove and Morsø fire contributed to a cozy atmosphere indoors. The revelry carried on late into the night, with some of the last guests only arriving at midnight! Thank you to everyone who made the effort to join us. We hope you had a great time and we would love to see you again next year!

We’ve been very busy finalising our plans for the inaugural Vastrap Boran Sale, which will take place on 16 August at our farm near Ladybrand in the Eastern Free State (click HERE to see where we are located). There is so much to plan and organise, but we are very excited to welcome fellow cattle farmers and stud breeders to Vastrap later in the year for our sale.

We have been working hard to come up with a concept that makes the Vastrap Boran auction special, one that stands out from the crowd and becomes one of the must-attend auctions of the year. To do this, we are introducing a new sale concept, which will guarantee that we consistently deliver top quality aminals to the market in an open and transparent manner. This year we will be selling all of our registered and pregnant 2004 and older females (no exceptions) and all of our 4 year old bulls. This includes some of the most famous Mollshoop cows such as Hope MHB 04-11 (see The Hope bloodline), Kelly MHB 04-24 (see The Kelly bloodline), Cindy MHB 04-06 and her full sister 04-04 (see The Cindy bloodline). There are also some very rare genetics such as a FE 93-66 daughter and grand-daughter. By placing all of our pregnant 2004 and older cows on auction you can be guaranteed that we are not being selective.

The timing of the sale in mid-August also lends itself to bull sales and again we are not being selective – every single 2009 bull is for sale.

This is our first annual auction and we want it to be a success. We will be serious sellers of every animal at the auction so that buyers return in 2014.

We are having the sale in partnership with Paul Pienaar (Bar Circle), Bernie Staal (Bos Blanco), Keith Peinke (Peinke Ranch) and Stephen Johnson (Frontier) in order to offer more animals, a wider range of genetics and younger female animals (particularly heifers).

We look forward to seeing you there. You will not want to miss out on this one!!